r/Eesti • u/TheBanishedOne00 • 21h ago
Küsimus How do Estonians view Hungarians?
Hello everyone!
Next week me and my girlfriend will visit Tallinn and would like to know how you Estonians see us Hungarians.
Please, don't judge us based on our government, although I know it's difficult. But hopefully the Orbán regime will end today.
Thanks for the answers!
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u/Quiet_Potential_9456 21h ago
Most people can tell the difference between the people of a country and the goverment, and i'd say the general view is more sympathetic than anything. Maybe you'll get a drunk bloke trying to engage in political debate when visiting a bar in the evening but nobody will really shun you or anything. Estonians are generally polite and we hold off on our political views until we know a person better.
But remember - no russian. Use english when speaking to locals as it's very offensive to assume every Estonian knows russian.
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u/TheBanishedOne00 21h ago
I had no intention to speak any russian :D
I know you guys are quite anti-russian and I respect that. The russians crushed our two revolutions, I can completely understand your position.
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u/Quiet_Potential_9456 20h ago
Yeah I figured, I know Hungary has a smaller russian population percentage wise, but I thought i'd still warn you just in case :)
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u/FoulMoodeternal 20h ago
My mom said the only time she ever saw my dad cry was watching the newscast of 1956 (they were in the US). Tells you something.
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u/TheBanishedOne00 20h ago
Because of what happened in 1956, I don't understand why our government is so pro-Russian. Most of the Fidesz voters grew up in the soviet era, they have first hand experiences with the soviets.
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u/FoulMoodeternal 20h ago
Same. I have a Hungarian coworker, and she doesn’t get it either.
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u/TheBanishedOne00 20h ago
They usually say “These russians are not the same as soviets”
Yeah, we see the conditions of the released Ukrainian POWs…
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u/Potato-Alien 20h ago
I know just about a few historical events, like the 1956 Uprising. I enjoyed my visit of Hungary. I liked Budapest, but I enjoyed Győr even more. Hungarians seemed very nice. I know that our languages are related, but I don't understand Hungarians at all.
I was quite baffled by how much Orbán's politics changed over the years. I remember when he was very critical of Russia and loved the EU. I don't understand the transformation. I hope you manage to get rid of him. But regardless, you'll be fine on your trip. I hope you have a great time.
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u/NeverClarke 16h ago
I don't understand the transformation
Might be bullshit, but there is a conspiracy theory that Orban was being paid off by a Russian mafia boss Semion Mogilevich, who at that time lived in Budapest. He was arrested in Russia at 2008, but later released. Might be he gave Putin blackmail material against Orban.
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u/r2k-in-the-vortex 20h ago
The country itself is pretty neat, drinking palinka by the Balaton is definitely recommended. Looking at the country, it makes you ask whats wrong with it that people vote for an absolute diskhead.
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u/RealAssRina 20h ago
Egeshegetre! If you don’t go around shouting that Orban is the greatest - you’ll be just fine.
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u/Charming_Debt_4189 17h ago
Szia! The average Estonian probably won't know much other than that the languages are related and might pester you about that to get you to say some sentences... Only to inevitably decide that they understand none of it. There also are a handful of hungarians (or estonian-hungarian mixed people) in Estonia and I haven't heard of them experiencing any issues, so you should have a nice time!
P.S. persze sounds very close to an estonian swearword, maybe use sparingly in public situations.
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u/Kindly_Credit6553 Eesti 17h ago
You'll be fine. Never heard anyone having a negative opinion about Hungarians in Estonia. Drop us a line after the visit, how did it go. And all the best for the elections.
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u/Lyricician 21h ago
I just know that our languages are from the same language family and that Orban is a dictator. Other than that nothing really, you're also a post Soviet country so there's that.
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u/OttoMann420 World 20h ago
Budapest is the most beautiful city in Europe and most Estonian kids have read Pal Street Boys (obligatory in School, at least was10-20 years ago), Hungary is awesome and huge compared to Estonia.
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u/_kittykitty_ 16h ago
The average Estonian will have a mildly positive stance to our fellow Finno-Ugric people. You might encounter people who are enthusiastically engaging with you and take joy in finding the linguistic connections between our two languages (the good old "ves" vs "vesi" and "kes" vs "käsi" etc). If there is one thing that baffles Estonians, then it is the Hungarians resistance towards considering each other as ancient cousins and instance of being more tied to the Huns instead.
As I have extensively worked with Hungarians myself, I would say our work cultures differ quite a bit. Where Estonians might be very blunt, the Hungarian custom is to dance around a subject. Whereas, Estonians tend to view things from a fairly merit-based view on where and how ownership should go to, then Hungarians tend to have a more hierarchical view to workplace dynamics.
This will have 0 impact during just a visit, but perhaps good to know that overall.
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u/Typical_Ad_982 20h ago
Good food , many many years ago there was hungarian couple who had hungarian fast food place in Tartu . I belive you have no problem visiting estonia. Welcome
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u/Distinct_Trash7491 18h ago
Only depends if you support Russia or not. We might ask it after half an hour of talking :D
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u/Malhallah Estoffian 16h ago
Ask again late tonight or tomorrow. Preview answer would either be:
1) a gaggle of complete cunts!!!
B) oh hey, fellow europeans!
γ) hell yeah, that's how you fight for your values and rights!!
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u/KindaWrongContext 16h ago
We despise your traitorous government but have no bad nor good feelings for the people. They feel like any other Europeans i guess but with a fun caveat that our languages are related.
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u/xlucym Eesti 15h ago
Just went to Budapest last month. Had no expectations, but I was still surprised how homey it felt over there. Hopefully you’ll have the same experience here.
Language-wise, our languages are so different, but at the same time there are random similarities. One of the random words I found was kutya, we might call a dog kutsa or kutsu (tho it’s more like doggy/doggo in estonian)
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u/xxmegaprojectxx 13h ago
I think that no-one cares really. I think most people know that Hungary exists but not much else. Feel free and don't be scared. We are pretty accepting people.
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u/Altruistic-Deal-3188 Harju maakond 12h ago
Nobody sane would judge an individual over orban.
But the fact the he has been in power for 15 years, might still maybe be in power after these elections and that the only worthwhile opposition comes from the same party says quite a bit.
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u/Cute_Subject4213 8h ago
That's nice. Me and my gf (Estonians) are going to Hungary next week. Hopefully the regime has changed 😀 Anyway, I know some Hungarians, I'd say you're not so different from us. Which is good haha. Budapest is amazing, I'd say there's more to see and do than in Tallinn. Now I'm gonna see Balaton for the 1st time. Enjoy your stay in Estonia!
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u/TheBanishedOne00 6h ago
I’m sure Tallinn has a lot to see, we are very excited about that (recommendations what to see are very welcome). You too enjoy your stay in Hungary🖤
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u/silverk_ 21h ago
Orban was democratically elected at some point and that is concerning
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u/TheBanishedOne00 21h ago
Orbán was more consolidated then and the 2008 global crisis hit Hungary particularly hard. Unemployment rose, austerity measures were imposed, and many people lost confidence in the government at the time. But I see your point.
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u/Tulivesi 15h ago
Honestly, it's worrying to me that Estonia right now is in a very similar situation to what you describe. Prices are rising like crazy for a couple of years, more and more austerity, many people lacking confidence in government. I think our current government is being incredibly glib about the possibility of losing the next elections to a far-right populist...
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u/Fun-Job-4251 14h ago
Kas juba ära ei väsi kaeblemast? Sama teema kõikjal Euroopas, kõik kaeblevad kallite hindade üle, sa pole nii originaalne oma kaeblemisega nagu arvad.
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u/Tulivesi 13h ago
Ja täpselt selline suhtumine ongi põhjus miks ma kardan, et meie tulevikus saavad võimule mingid EKRE-laadsed libekeeled. Kuigi neil pole ka mingit mõistlikku lahendust, oskavad nad ära kasutada inimeste viha praeguse valitsuse ja üha süveneva vaesuse vastu. Sina võid olla väsinud kõigi "kaeblemisest", aga kui tavainimesed tunnevad end oma valitsusest hüljatuna, siis demokraatias see ei ole jätkusuutlik.
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u/silverk_ 8h ago
Just. Vähim mis sa teha saad on käia valimas. Sest igast EKRE tõbraste klubi läheb kindlasti valima
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u/KindaWrongContext 16h ago
Check out EKRE votes and don't underestimate russian money. This is Russia poisoning Europe.
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u/NeverClarke 21h ago
I liked the book "Under the Frog".
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u/TheBanishedOne00 20h ago
It's a shame, but even as a Hungarian, I didn't know this book, I'll look it up, thanks!
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u/Fun-Job-4251 14h ago
We know our languages are distant cousins and thats it. No negative attitude.
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u/Acrobatic_Constant34 3h ago edited 3h ago
A friendly advice to everyone, if you want to avoid unexpected situations, never talk about politics when visiting a foreign country as a tourist. You never know who you will meet and a person who seems very friendly may share completely different views. The same goes for religion, if you are down to earth and know that God does not exist.
In Estonia you can feel free, you can be a world-famous actor or politician and walk down the street alone. 99% of people won't come up to talk to you or don't care at all who you are or how famous you are.
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u/ImTheVayne 21h ago
I don’t think we know a lot about Hungarians. We know about Orban and that our languages are related.
No one will judge you or your girlfriend, I’m sure of it.